IM LOST!!!

I will be graduating in October with an associates in c.j. now what? How can I increase my chances of getting a job? Iv applied with every agency in Oregon, and have done phase one testing for only 3 of them, I know an associates isnt much but thats all I have, I have a young son who Im trying to raise as best I can and need a good reliable career soon. What do I do to get their attention?

You may just be having the problem that the agencies that you have applied with are either not looking for employees or they are looking for so few new employees that the competition is beating you out. I had the same trouble and had to relocate to an area where the hiring was better. The departments in Southern California are hiring like crazy including offering signing bonuses of $5,000 just for getting hired. You just have to decide what is important, the job or the area where you live.

You may just be having the problem that the agencies that you have applied with are either not looking for employees or they are looking for so few new employees that the competition is beating you out. I had the same trouble and had to relocate to an area where the hiring was better. The departments in Southern California are hiring like crazy including offering signing bonuses of $5,000 just for getting hired. You just have to decide what is important, the job or the area where you live.

Just as BCPS said, agencies down here are hiring like mad. I only have my associates degree as well, I started the hiring process with a department in February and I start the academy in four days. It took a while, though...a little over two years of applying before I was picked up. However, if you want to be hired on (with relatively good pay), you may want to look into the option of relocation.

I know the fact that I have no actual experience except for the military wont help but does it totally count me out? Is there any secrets to finding agencies that ARE hiring? I only know to look on the state and city websites and monster &careerbuilder. By the way BCPS should be proud, I expanded to Washington & N. Cali. But Im still worried. And is my age and sex gonna hurt or help me? Im in good shape and ambitiouse, but I feel like some people in the field see me as a child

2nd-If you are looking at the whole spectrum (like I am), and want to look into federal LE, go to www.usajobs.com
you can do general searches or specific agencies. my problem is that i will not be done by BA until this fall, so I have to wait til about sept. or oct. before I can start applying......chompin at the bit here.
best of luck, TG.

Try Porac.org. Then click on the employment link. There is a good listing of agencies in California that are looking for officers. Take a look at Tracy PD...$96,000 a year ! I gave you this link because you seem to want to stay on the West Coast.

There are some agencies in California that will sponsor you through the academy. This would include tuition and a salary while you attend the 6 month academy.

Upper hand? Mostly show some initiative (like you seem to be conveying...) and have a clean background. And, if at all possible, complete your B.A. This will punch your ticket for the rest of your career. This is a real secret as far a 'upper hand' or an advantage. Military preference is also out there.

Be prepared to make some real tough decisions and sacrifices to get your LEO career off the ground with a young child. Any LEO will tell you the first few years in this work is very demanding.....on your time and relationships. Even if you get through the Academy, then get hired, then finish the FTO program,....are you prepared to work graveyard for a while until you get some time under your belt? Most newbies work dark-thirty hours for while when they are on probation.

Just some random observations .....

Check out the PoliceLink.com Facebook page. It was established in 2008.

TigerGirl, Here in the Seattle area were are having to fight to hire people. The pay in the Tech sector is much higher and there are still plenty of jobs so no one wants to get into LE. The military pool we used to have is gone because of the war. We test every two months. The hiring process still takes a while to get through everything so be patient. I can tell you in the Tacoma/Seattle area there are many agencies that need applicants both big agencies and small agencies. If you want to check out the King County Sheriff's Office go to www.kingcountysheriffjobs.com. Get a Washington map and find the cities you might be interested in. Then look online for their government web sites to find out where to go for an application.

Thanks alot for all the help, Ill take all I can get. You guyz are great, your advice has really calmed my nerves, its nice to know the advice is coming from people who actually know wat their talking about too. Im trying hard to stay w/ in 5-6 hours of my family, Seatle is only aboout 4 hours form here, every couple months I expand by an hour, pretty soon Ill be livin on the east coast if I dont find somthin soon. Iv been looking into Washington, and have applied to vancouver, bothell, auburn, and a couple other towns, and about 20 towns in Oregon. not one agency in Oregon has an application fee, why does Wa. charge like 40 bucks just to apply? After being invited for testing, and passing, wat are the odds of actually getting the job?

Vancouver, Bothell and Auburn are small agencies and may not have as many openings. Our agency is down about 40 and Seattle is down a hell of a lot, in the 100's. Large agencies that have lots of vacancies and need to fill those slots. You stand a better chance of getting picked up faster the more openings an agency has. There is only one academy in WA state. County, municipal and tribal agancies all go to that academy. State Patrol has their own academy. The larger the agency the more slots they have in the academy. If they can't fil the slots they are given to another agancy. As for charging a fee. When you mail out 1000 plus applications a month it gets expensive. Governments are just trying to keep costs down by charging the applicant. If you get through the all the testing(written, physical agility, background,medical, phsyc, poly, interviews, etc) then chances are you will get picked up. Even on a fast track it can take months to get through all this. Seattle has over 15 background investigators, we have 3. Can you see how it may take longer to get through the process depending on the agency. The more investigators the more that gets done. Small agencies have to use regular criminal investigators to also do their backgrounds so could take even longer. I am sure you will find an agency here in the Northwest Try Federal Way, Lakewood and Kent. They are medium size agancies with 300-600 officers and close to Tacoma, south of Seattle. Believe me we are all hurting for qualified applicants. Good Luck! Feel free to PM me if you have other questions specific to this area.

Move to California and apply at any agency here. They estimate a shortage of 16,000 cops in five years. The pay here is great, but the cost of living is really high (making $80K in CA will put you in the same situation as a cop making $30K in Alabama). Just about every CA agency is hiring. Good luck to all in the pursuit of an LE career.

Stay calm, truthful, and don't argue. Concentrate on answering the questions the way you want to answer them, not the way you think they want you to answer them. Just be yourself, that is who they will hire. If it starts getting to you, take a moment, breath, think about that lovely baby boy, and get back in the fracus. They may try to confuse you, that's just to see how you react. Don't react, maintain your composure. Another thing, you kept mentioning no experience other than military. First, military background is almost always a leg up. You already know chain of command and how to adhere to SOP. The fact you have no other experience in a lot of cases is a plus. A lot of dept. go by the old adage that it is easier to train than to retrain. They would rather have fresh meat with a future than an old bird like me with a past. So don't think that is going to stop you. Stay Safe PS as others have said, PM me if you have questions.

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